Hermione Granger and the Chamber of Secrets
by TheCrownprincessBride
Summary: What if Hermione were a Pureblood? What would have changed in the trio's jorney through Hogwarts? Adaption of "The Chamber of Secrets". AU.


**Disclaimer : **I do not own Harry Potter!

 **A/N: So, a new take on the Chamber of Secrets. Some parts of this, e.g. dialogue, are quoted from JK - so anything you recognise probably belongs to her. Needless to say, this is AU. It starts on the day where the book - Hermione gets pertrified.**

 **This has been betaed by Beckintime, 2DaughtersofAthena, and AelysAlthea! Thank you, girls!**

 **I hope you enjoy the story, even if it's a bit rushed! Please, leave me your thoughts!**

* * *

"Perfect Quidditch conditions," were Oliver Wood's first words when Harry came down for breakfast. "Here," he handed him a plate full of scrambled eggs, "you need a proper breakfast if you want to catch the Snitch."

Harry grimaced slightly, but took the plate anyway.

"Do you want that?" Ron asked, pointing at Harry's sausage.

Harry gave a wave of his hand to indicate that Ron could take anything he wanted. His mind was elsewhere.

"Are you still thinking about the diary?" Hermione asked Harry in a hushed whisper, glancing around for eavesdroppers. "Whoever stole it might be sitting right next to us."

Harry winced. Those were his thoughts exactly.

"I don't understand why you won't tell Professor McGonagall," Hermione added.

"I'd need to tell her about…" Harry cast a quick glance up and down the table, too, " _Hagrid_." How many people knew why Hagrid was expelled? Would they think he was opening the Chamber now?

Hermione pulled a face but remained silent.

Soon, it was time to walk down to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry had just put his foot on the first step of the marble staircase when he heard it again –

 _"_ _Kill this time … let me rip … tear …"_

Harry yelped and Ron and Hermione jumped away from him in alarm.

"The voice!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes darting wildly around. "I just heard it again – didn't you?"

Ron shook his head, bewildered, but Hermione struck her forehead with her palm. " _Oh_! I've got to go to the library!" Without pause, she sprinted upstairs and was gone.

Harry and Ron exchanged confused glances but made their way to the pitch, discussing Hermione's antics.

* * *

"Nobody leaves the Common Room after six. A teacher will escort you to each lesson …" While McGonagall read aloud the new rules that had been implemented after the most recent attack, Hermione slipped in through the portrait hole, largely unnoticed.

Her face was red from running and excitement as she feverishly beckoned Harry and Ron to follow her into a quiet corner of the room.

"What were you thinking, Hermione?" Ron hissed before she could say anything. "The monster's out there. It attacked Dean! And you're wandering the hallways!"

"I was in the library," Hermione informed them stiffly. "I'm a pureblood, if you've forgotten. The monster doesn't want to kill me."

"What have you found out?" Harry interrupted their bickering.

Hermione's eyes focused on him, and she handed over a torn-out, yellowing page from an old book. "Here!"

"What's that?" he asked blankly.

"Just read it," Hermione said, impatiently waving his question aside as she gestured him towards the page.

 _Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

"It all makes sense!" Hermione threw in, almost as though she'd been reading the words alongside Harry. "It's a _snake_ , Harry!"

Harry nodded slowly, staring at the handwritten word _pipes_. Hermione was right. He could understand the monster because he was a _parselmouth_. And she'd also found a solution as to how it moved through the school.

"You're bloody brilliant!" Ron said, awe touching his words.

"No need to sound so surprised," Hermione answered drily.

Ron threw her an irritated glance, adding, "But if it kills with its eyes, how come nobody's died?"

"Because nobody saw it," Hermione answered like a bullet from a gun. She pulled a small mirror out of her bag. "I was looking through this, while walking back to the Common Room, so I'd only see its reflection."

"Oh," Harry said, inhaling sharply as understanding dawned on him. "Colin saw him through the camera, right?"

"And Justin through Nearly-Headless-Nick," Hermione nodded.

"But Mrs. Norris and Dean?" Ron asked sceptically. Harry frowned.

There was a pause, and then Hermione snapped her fingers so sharply that Harry started. "The water. The whole floor was flooded when the cat was attacked. Dean – I don't know. Maybe a reflection in the window?"

"But …" Harry said slowly, "there has to be an entrance, and someone opening it."

Hermione glanced towards him, her brow furrowing. "You don't think it's Hagrid, do you?"

"No," Harry replied immediately, though a hint of doubt remained. If it was neither Malfoy nor Hagrid, who could it be? "But maybe Hagrid knows where the entrance is."

"You aren't suggesting what I think you are, are you?" Ron said faintly. And for once, Hermione agreed with him. "Haven't you listened to Professor McGonagall? We're not allowed to leave the Common Rooms."

A crooked grin spread across Harry's face. "Good that I still have my Dad's cloak, then."

* * *

"You're standing on my foot," Hermione hissed, elbowing Ron, who quickly side-stepped away.

"Shut up," Harry breathed. Snape was standing mere metres away from them, keeping watch in the entrance hall. Luckily for them, Snape sneezed at that exact same moment, hiding Ron's cursing.

They slipped, undetected, through the castle's protection, shedding the Invisibility Cloak only once they stood outside Hagrid's door. Hermione instantly stepped away from Ron, throwing an angry glare in his direction, while Ron rubbed his bruised ribs.

The door opened after a single knock, and they stared directly into the muzzle of a crossbow.

"Oh," Hagrid grunted, lowering the weapon. "What are you three doin' here?"

"We know about the monst–" Hermione began, but Hagrid smothered her words with hasty hushes. Glancing around, he quickly ushered them inside and locked the door.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, staring at the crossbow.

"N-nothing," Hagrid stammered, turning to the kettle. "Tea?" His fingers were shaking badly when he poured water into the tea cups.

"Hagrid, we need to talk to you," Hermione started again, ignoring the hot tea that splashed in every direction. "We know what's in the Chamber of Secrets."

Hagrid froze. "Y-you what?"

"We think it's a Bas–" A loud knock drowned Harry's words. The three Gryffindors exchanged panicked looks and leapt to their feet. Quickly, they ducked beneath the cloak. Meanwhile, Hagrid edged towards the door, his crossbow gripped firmly, and eased it open.

A voice spoke benignly from the darkness beyond. "Good Evening, Hagrid."

* * *

"No, Harry!" Hermione hissed as the three of them watched spiders scuttle from the greenhouse in Herbology the next day. "This is even worse than your last idea!"

"You heard what Hagrid said," Harry reasoned. "'Follow the spiders.' He wanted to tell us where the entrance is."

"Or maybe, he thought he'd send us on a wild goose chase, so we wouldn't look for the Chamber," Ron whispered, pretending to shovel earth around the sapling that was their project for today.

"Why would the spiders know about the entrance anway?" Hermione asked. "Spiders _hate_ Basilisks."

Harry's eyes lingered on Seamus, who looked pretty lost without his best friend at his side. "Maybe. But Hagrid wanted to tell us something important. Otherwise he wouldn't have given us that clue. I still think we should try it and see where it leads us."

"In the Forbidden Forest," Ron muttered darkly to himself. "That's where it leads us. Why can't we just follow _butterflies_?"

They were still arguing quietly when Herbology ended with the bell. Packing away alongside their classmates, the trio headed to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Go, if you feel you need to," Hermione finally snapped, reaching the end of her tether. "If you want to get yourself killed – fine. I'll be in the library, doing something useful."

That was the end of it. While Lockhart bragged about how he'd always known that there was something suspicious about Hagrid, Harry scribbled a note for Ron.

 _We're doing it tonight._

* * *

A starless night had wrapped itself around the castle like a thick blanket of darkness, but the Common Room was still alight and filled with students, doing homework, talking, and playing games.

"Come on, Ron, don't be such a sore loser," Fred laughed when Ron, apparently miffed, announced he was going to bed. He'd lost all games of Exploding Snap they'd played so far. What the twins didn't know was that he was losing on purpose, so they could sneak off into the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione scowled after them. To her displeasure, she hadn't found anything useful in the library. It seemed they had no other option other than to follow the only clue they had: the spiders.

While Ron and Harry disappeared upstairs, she attempted to excuse herself as well. To her frustration, Fred and George didn't want to lose another player and all but forced her to stay. Ginny wasn't much help as she only sat silent and downcast on her armchair. In the end, Hermione watched helplessly as the portrait hole opened a fraction and two invisible figures climbed through it.

It wasn't that she especially _wanted_ to go out in the Forbidden Forest, but she knew they had to stop the Basilisk before it attacked another student. However, with Dumbledore gone, there was no one to talk to. Maybe the boys would find out something useful; some solid proof for her allegations about the Chamber of Secrets?

It was well after midnight when Fred and George finally decided to go to bed. Harry and Ron hadn't returned yet, and Hermione felt herself growing increasingly worried. She was determined to stay up and wait for them, so she settled down next to the fire with her copy of _Ancient Runes Made Easy_.

The Common Room emptied slowly. Half an hour later, Hermione was the only one remaining. It was eerily quiet, and she felt her worry well further - but then, she heard the sound of naked feet climbing down the stairs. She looked up and saw a flash of red hair coming down from the girl's dormitories.

"Ginny?" she asked, surprised. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I –" Nervously, Ginny tugged at the hem of her dressing gown. "I need to talk to you about something." Cautiously, she approached Hermione and sat down on the big couch. She seemed so small and fragile, sinking in between the large cushions. Her lips trembled, and she kneaded her hands in her lap.

"Something wrong, Ginny?"

The girl's eyes flickered towards the portrait hole. Pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them, she whispered, "I thought I should … but …"

"I don't understand, Ginny," Hermione murmured, leaning forward to better hear the other girl's low voice. "Did something happen? Did you see something?"

Ginny looked like she couldn't find the right words.

A sudden epiphany struck Hermione, and she abruptly straightened. She put her book down, edging closer to Ginny. "Is it – is it about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ginny took in a shuddering breath. "I – I know who opened the Chamber. I know where the entrance is." She swallowed thickly. "I know who stole the diary."

"Oh my God! We need to go see Professor McGonagall at once." Determined, Hermione leapt to her feet.

"No!" Ginny desperately shook her head, voice breaking. "I can't – I can't …"

Hermione realised that the younger girl was in no state to talk to the Deputy Headmistress. She was shaking so fiercely that Hermione feared she might collapse at any moment.

"Okay, okay. Calm down," Hermione said in an attempt at reassurance, sitting down next to Ginny once more.

Gingerly, Hermione pulled her into a hug. "Better?" she whispered gently. Ginny nodded silently. "Can you tell me now who's opening the Chamber? Who let out the Basilisk?"

"Y-you – how do you k-know?" Ginny stammered.

"So I was right!" Hermione nearly shouted, but quickly clasped her hands over her mouth. Ginny stared at her with large eyes. "It's okay, Ginny. You can tell me. Who _is_ it?"

"It's – it's …" A sob broke out of Ginny's chest. "It's T-Tom."

A frown furrowed Hermione's brow. "Tom? Is he one of the sixth-years?"

"N-no." Silent tears streamed down Ginny's face. "H-he –"

Suddenly, the portrait swung open and two figures stumbled in. "Follow the spiders, follow the spiders," Ron murmured angrily and kicked against a chair. "I'm never going to forgive Hagrid."

Ginny instantly stiffened. Before Hermione could stop her, she jumped to her feet and fled to her dormitory.

"Was that Ginny?" Harry asked, picking a twig out of his hair.

"You idiots," Hermione huffed. "She knows who opened the Chamber of Secrets and you two spooked her!"

"Ginny? Nah," Ron said dismissively, flopping down on the couch. "She probably just had a nightmare."

Hermione wasn't convinced of that, but she remained silent, determined to ask Ginny tomorrow for more information. "What did you find out, then?" she snapped, folding her arms primly across her chest.

Ron shuddered. "You were right, Hermione. Hagrid nearly got us killed by his _pet_."

"Pet?" Hermione repeated. "Fang?"

"No," Ron said. "Hagrid can't have normal pets. It _has_ to be a monster."

"In his defence, I don't think he knew that Aragog would want to eat us," Harry added.

"Aragog?" Hermione asked, confused.

Harry smiled weakly. "An acromantula. That was what he was hiding all those years ago. Hagrid never knew where the Chamber was or what was hidden in it."

"So it's a dead end," Hermione sighed.

Harry shrugged, looking into the dying flames in the Common Room hearth.

"At least, we know for certain that it's a Basilisk," Ron said with a sidelong glance at Hermione.

Suddenly, Harry gasped. "And we know something else! I can't believe we were so close and didn't see it."

"What?" Hermione asked impatiently.

Harry paused and looked at her. "Aragog said the girl who was killed fifty years ago was found in a bathroom – what if she's still there?"

Hermione sucked in a breath, her eyes wide. "You mean …"

" _Moaning Myrtle_."

* * *

"We've been in that bathroom so often, only three doors away," Ron grumbled bitterly.

"I still have the cloak," Harry reminded him, following Hermione into the Transfiguration classroom. "We'll check the bathroom in the break."

" _I_ think we should talk to Professor McGonagall," Hermione said for what seemed to be the hundredth time this morning.

"Yeah, and what do we tell her?" Ron's voice then rose a few octaves, trying to imitate Hermione. "Oh, Professor McGonagall, there's gigantic snake slithering around in our pipes, and the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is in the girl's bathroom."

Hermione threw him a dark look. "What's your brilliant plan, then?"

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but, before he could, Harry gave him a nudge with his elbow. "Shut up, you two. We're not alone." He pointedly turned towards McGonagall, who'd started to write something on the black board.

The room fell eerily silent as everyone tried to process McGonagall's written words. The professor turned around and announced, "I've pointed out the main revision points for the exams, which will start on the first of June."

"Exams?" Seamus howled. "We'll still have exams after everything that's happened?

There was a loud bang behind Harry. Neville had dropped his wand, and two legs of his table had disappeared. With a flick of her own wand, McGonagall repaired the table, and then turned to Seamus, frowning. "Mr. Finnigan, the only purpose of this school staying open is to maintain your education. Exams will take place as per usual."

"Oh no," Hermione whimpered from beside Harry. "I haven't even revised half of the material for Transfiguration yet."

Ron looked as if someone had told him he had to live in the Forbidden Forest from now on. "Do you believe I can pass the exams with this thing?" he asked Harry, raising his wand, which began to whistle loudly.

After class, Hermione started babbling about revision diaries for the three of them, but Harry's mind was elsewhere. How was he ever going to pass the exam with a Basilisk hunting students?

He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed where he was going, and suddenly, he bumped right into Hermione.

"Uh," Harry groaned. "Hermione!"

She turned around, eyes wide. "The diary!" Her voice shook so violently he could hardly understand her.

"What about it?" he asked, exchanging a confused glance with Ron.

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed and suddenly charged away from the group towards the next staircase.

"What the –?" Ron muttered.

Harry cast a quick glance at McGonagall, but she hadn't noticed Hermione's departure. "Come on!" he said, pulling Ron behind a statute. As soon as the rest of the group was out of sight, they followed after Hermione. They caught up to her in front of the Common Room.

"Quickly," she hissed and slipped through the portrait hole. Without waiting for them, she ran up to the girl's dormitory.

When she returned, she looked pale and frightened. "She's not here. Harry, Ginny's not here! Her wand's still on the bedside table …"

"From the beginning, Hermione," Harry said, grabbing her shoulders. "What's going on?"

She inhaled a shuddering breath. "Do you remember I told you that Ginny knew something?" Harry and Ron nodded simultaneously. "She was right. I was so stupid and didn't make the connection. She told me a 'Tom' was opening the Chamber, and I couldn't remember any Tom in our house." Desperately, she covered her face with her hands.

"But there isn't, is there?" Ron said, his eyes wide.

Her head snapped up towards him. "It was never about a real person. Harry, who did you say the diary belonged to?"

Shocked, Harry staggered a step backwards. "No, that can't …"

"Tom Riddle!" Ron exclaimed. "But he's not real. Just a memory."

Hermione grabbed Harry's wrist. "But that memory answered you, didn't it?" With an angry jerk of her shoulders, she turned towards the portrait hole. "I knew there was something wrong with that book. It was Tom Riddle. He's the heir of Slytherin! He made Ginny do all those terrible things," she explained hastily, opening the portrait once more.

"Wait a minute." Ron stopped in his tracks. "Are you saying _Ginny_ opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I- I don't know. I don't think it was really her. Maybe he convinced her, or blackmailed her, or …" Hermione shrugged helplessly. "We need to talk to Professor McGonagall!"

They turned a corner – and collided with Snape's dark form.

"What do we have here?" he drawled, looking at them with a sardonic smile. "Students alone in the hallways. I seem to remember that such liberty has been made strictly forbidden."

"But, Professor –" Hermione began.

"I think fifty points from Gryffindor from each of you." Snape's smile curled further. "This might even warrant –"

He wasn't able to finish that sentence as the classroom door alongside them abruptly banged open, and Lockhart appeared. "Oh, there you are." He beamed at Harry. "Thank you for taking care of my students, Professor Snape. Mr. Weasley forgot his book, and I allowed them to return to their tower to procure it. The school should be safe now since the culprit's been caught. Of course, the whole thing's been handled most incompetently. If I'd been given command, the monster would be dead by now."

Snape's lips curled. "Is that so?" Lockhart's smile wavered a little under Snape's gaze. Abruptly, Snape turned on his heels and walked away, his robes billowing behind him, somehow reminding Harry of a bat.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," Lockhart said patronisingly. "Playing the hero again?"

"Professor, something terrible has happened. You need to help us!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice high with fear. "Ginny – Ginny Weasley's been snatched by the Basilisk, and she's down in the Chamber of Secrets, and –"

"Ginny Weasley?" Lockhart interrupted her. "Snatched?"

"Yes, sir!" Harry repeated. "Since you said you knew how to fight the Basilisk, you can go down and save her."

Lockhart paled. "A – a Basilisk, you say?"

"That should be no problem for you, should it? After you defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf!" Hermione said, smiling confidently at the Professor.

"Er – no problem at all. Of course. As a matter of fact, ah, I … well, you see I can't –"

"But you're our teacher against the Dark Arts. After everything you've written in your books, a Basilisk's surely no problem," Ron said. "She's my sister! You need to save her!"

Suddenly, McGonagall's voice reverberated through the corridors. "All students back to their houses. Teachers to the staffroom."

The trio exchanged meaningful glances. "They know about Ginny!" Ron whispered.

Harry cast a doubtful glance at Lockhart. "Do you really think he'll take it up with the Basilisk?"

Ron sneered at the Professor, who was directing the students that streamed out of his classroom towards the Grand Staircase. "In my opinion, he's just a show-off."

"Ron!" Hermione said sharply. "Haven't you read his books?"

"Haven't you seen him at the Duelling Club?" Ron retorted.

"Shh," Harry hissed. "He's looking at us." He pulled his two friends around a corner. "I say we go to the bathroom and take the task into our own hands. There are three of us; Riddle's only a ghost." His gaze wandered between his two friends. "What do you say? I wouldn't want to bet Ginny's life on Lockhart."

"But Professor McGonagall –"

"Will not listen to us," Harry interrupted Hermione. "Ginny's been gone for hours. She doesn't have the time to wait until the other professors have discussed the best method to solve this."

Hermione looked unhappy but nodded, nevertheless.

"Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron snorted. "She's my sister. Do you think I'll stand around and wait for Lockhart to get a move on?"

Breaking into a run, they reached Myrtle's bathroom. "Oh, it's you," Myrtle said when she recognised Harry. "What do you want this time?"

Harry's eyes darted around the dimly lit room, searching for any clues about the entrance to the Chamber. "To ask you how you died," he finally said.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful," Myrtle said, though she smiled in direct opposition of her words. "It happened right in here. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny, a different language, I think it must've been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door to tell him to go away, and then... I died."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Myrtle said lowly. "I only remember a pair of big, yellow eyes. And then –"

"Where did you see them?" Hermione interrupted her unceremoniously.

Myrtle threw her an angry glare before answering. "Over there." She pointed at a sink.

Harry and Ron rushed towards it while Hermione politely said, "Thank you, Myrtle."

"Here!" Harry exclaimed all of a sudden. "There's a snake carved into the tap."

"Go on then, Harry. Say something in Parseltongue," Ron said, looking at him expectantly.

A deep frown appeared on Harry's brow. " _Open_." It was more a hiss than a word.

The next second, the sink was moving. In fact, it sank right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed – a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

" _Brilliant_ ," a voice behind them blurted out, and the trio spun around.

Lockhart stood in the doorway, staring at the hole with wide eyes.

"Wait a moment – you _followed_ us?" Ron hissed.

"I couldn't miss this opportunity, could I?" Lockhart smiled haughtily. "It'll be a great book: 'Banishing the Basilisk'. Or maybe: 'The Basilisk in the Bathroom'."

"Shouldn't we save Ginny first before you write a book about it?" Harry said.

"My dear boy, do use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I did all those things." Lockhart rolled his eyes. "Nobody wants to hear about an Armenian wizard who saved a village from werewolves."

"B-b-but your books –" Hermione spluttered. "Does that mean you haven't done any of those things? You took the credit for other wizard's work?"

Lockhart shook his head impatiently. "It's not that easy, Miss Granger. I had to look for these people, coax the details out of them, and then make them forget everything."

"Is there any spell you can actually do?" Ron asked, scandalised.

A smug smile danced across Lockhart's lips. "Yes, now you mention it. I'm rather gifted with Memory Charms." His hand twitched to his wand. "I'm really sorry, boys. Now that I've found the entrance to the Chamber, my story's credible enough. I'll tell them when I discovered the Weasley girl, she was already dead, and you three had _tragically_ lost your minds." He pointed his wand at them. From his periphery, Harry saw Hermione reaching for her wand.

"Dumbledore'll never believe you!" he said, in a desperate attempt at distraction.

Lockhart smiled mildly. "Say goodbye to your memory, Mr. Potter. _Obliviate_!"

" _Protego_!" Hermione bellowed at the same moment, and Lockhart's charm ricocheted against the invisible shield. He was hurled through the air like a puppet to tumble onto the ground, lifeless.

A moment of stunned silence hung between them. "Um, you can be really scary, Hermione," Ron whispered. "Wasn't that a fifth-year spell?"

Hermione shrugged. "I've always wanted to try it. Now, somebody should inform Professor McGonagall." She glanced pointedly at Ron.

"But …"

"We're going to save Ginny," Harry said. "Somebody should make sure we'll get out of the Chamber when … when we've succeeded." It didn't take much, not with the gravity of the situation and the need to _do_ something. After a brief discussion, Harry and Hermione disappeared into the pipe.

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. The pipe twisted and turned, sloping steeply downwards. Without warning, it levelled out, and Harry shot out of it with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel.

"Hermione?" Harry called huskily, his voice echoing in the pitch-black tunnel. He was covered in filth, and so was Hermione, he saw.

"I'm okay," she coughed, casting a hasty _Lumos_. "Let's just hope Ron really gets Professor McGonagall, because it looks like we're not getting out of here without help."

Harry agreed, staring up at the steep heights of the tunnel through which they'd descended. "Let's go that way," he said, pointing down one of the black holes – tunnels deeper into the Chamber. "Remember, close your eyes at the slightest movement."

Their footsteps slapped loudly on the wet floor. The dark tunnel seemed endless. Beyond every bend, there seemed to be another bend waiting for them. Finally, they reached a door with snakes adorning it.

Harry swallowed loudly. "Are you ready?"

Hermione's hands trembled slightly, but her voice was firm when she replied. "If there's the slightest glimmer of hope that Ginny might still be alive, we have to try."

Harry nodded, looking back at the snakes. This time, he knew what to do. " _Open_!" he hissed.

The doorway stood at the end of a long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more serpents, rose to a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place. Motionless and with racing hearts, they stared into the emerald twilight. Where was Ginny? And, more importantly, where was the Basilisk?

Harry took a cautious step inside, ready to clamp his eyes shut at the smallest sign of movement. Hermione followed in step, trying to illuminate every shadowed corner with her wand.

"There!" she suddenly whispered, pointing ahead. Harry saw it, too. Beneath the enormous statue of a wizard was a smear of flaming red hair.

"Ginny!" he cried out, breaking into a run. Skidding onto his knees beside her, his wand fell from his fingers. "Don't be dead, _please_ , don't be dead!"

A moment later, Hermione was at his side. With shaking hands, she rolled the girl over. Ginny's face was as white as marble and just as cold, and her eyes were closed. "She's breathing," Hermione gasped. "But barely."

"Ginny, wake up!" Harry called and grabbed Ginny's shoulders.

"She won't wake," a soft voice murmured from behind them.

They both spun to the sound – towards a tall, black-haired boy who was leaning against the closest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, a weird, misty light shining through him.

"You!" Harry exclaimed.

"Is that – _Tom Riddle_?" Hermione asked, her gaze snapping between the two boys.

" _You_ did this to Ginny!" Harry yelled. "Wake her up!"

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's lips. "I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter."

"What did you do to her? How did she get like this? How was she able to open the Chamber?" Hermione asked, stumbling over her words.

"You must be the brilliant pureblood witch Ginny was admiring." A hungry look appeared on Riddle's face. "It's quite a long story, actually. Little Ginny poured her heart and soul into that diary." Riddle pointed carelessly to the floor where the leather-bound book lay unnoticed. "It was so _boring_." His smile broadened. "But her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted. I grew stronger and stronger, powerful enough to pour a little of my soul back into her."

Harry clenched his fists, his fingernails biting into his palms. "But she saw through you in the end. She told Hermione –"

"And then, she told me," Riddle laughed highly. "Threatened me, even. I had to hasten my plans and take her down to the Chamber immediately. I can't tell you how glad I am that _you_ followed her, Harry Potter." His gaze grew hungrier as it roved over Harry's lightening scar.

Harry flinched. "Me?"

"I have many questions for you," Riddle said, smiling pleasantly. "How is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talents managed to escape the greatest wizards of all time? How did _you_ escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort's power was destroyed?" There was an odd red gleam in his eyes now.

Hermione gasped sharply and reached for Harry's arm, dragging him behind her, as if trying to protect him.

"Why do you care?" Harry snapped. "Voldemort was after your time."

"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future."

Suddenly, he raised the wand in his hand – _Harry's_ wand, Harry abruptly realised – and drew fiery letters into the air: _Tom Marvolo Riddle_.

Hermione's finger's tightened around Harry's arm. "An anagram," she breathed.

"Clever girl." Riddle waved his hand, and the letters rearranged themselves.

 _I am Lord Voldemort_.

"I wasn't going to keep my filthy Muggle-father's name. No. I fashioned myself a new name – a name wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak when I'd become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Harry's mind was still numb, unable to form a coherent sentence. Hermione spoke first. "You're not."

"Not what?" snapped Riddle.

Hermione's quiet voice was full of venom. "Not the greatest sorcerer in the world."

"She's right." Harry finally found his voice. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in the world."

Riddle's eyes bulged. He opened his mouth to answer but froze. Eerie, unearthly music suddenly echoed throughout the Chamber, and from nowhere, flames erupted above them. A crimson bird, the size of a swan, burst into view.

"Fawkes," Harry breathed as the bird flew towards him and dropped the ragged thing he was carrying to his feet.

"A phoenix," Hermione gasped. "And – and the Sorting Hat?"

Riddle began laughing. "A singing bird and an old hat?" He sneered before, suddenly, his gaze sharpened. "Now, let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."

Instantly, Hermione raised her wand, but Riddle didn't want to duel. Fear pooled in Harry's belly. While Riddle turned to the stone statue, he cried, "Hermione, run!" But she wasn't moving. She was frozen, fixated upon the statue behind him. Harry spun around. Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horror-struck, he saw his mouth opening, widening, forming a deep black hole... And something stirred within. Something was slithering up from its depths.

"Run!" he shouted again and pushed Hermione forwards. Finally, she listened and stumbled towards the exit.

Something huge hit the stone floor behind them, and Harry shut his eyes. He heard Riddle's hissing words. " _Kill the boy. Leave the girl for later_."

Harry edged himself forward, his hands outstretched, blindly grasping his way. He could hear the serpent's heavy body slithering across the dusty floor. It was close. So, so close.

Then he tripped, hitting the stone floor with a crack.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, and then she was at his side, and he felt her hands on his back, struggling to pull him upright. Without warning, something hard collided into them, and Harry found himself smashed against stone. Something was thrashing around wildly, mad hissing echoing through the room.

"Hermione," he groaned, peering through his lashes. But she was no longer beside him. Turning his head, he saw her crawling along the poisonous green body of the serpent towards Ginny. The Basilisk hissed in agony, and Harry squinted at it. Fawkes was diving at its blunt head, puncturing its eyes with his sharp beak.

" _No! Leave the bird!_ " Riddle roared. " _Kill the boy!_ "

Harry struggled to his feet, watching the suddenly blinded serpent closely.

"Harry," Hermione screamed suddenly. From the corner of his eye, he saw something flying towards him. With the reflexes of a seeker, he caught the Sorting Hat – but it was no longer empty. Something hard, something _heavy_ , slid into his hands. Harry's breath hitched in wonder. Grasping the hilt, he drew the gleaming silver sword from within with both hands and turned back on the snake. Just in time, too – it lunged at him blindly, its mouth wide open.

"No!" Hermione cried, and he heard her running towards him.

He dodged the snake's strike by a hair's breadth, gripping the hilt tighter. Suddenly, Hermione was beside him; he felt her comforting warmth in the icy chamber. As she lifted her wand towards the Basilisk, he raised the sword.

" _Petrificus totalus_!" she cried. The spell hit the monster square in the eye, and while it didn't freeze its movement, it did slow it down. Harry took the opportunity; leaping forwards, he thrust the sword through the roof of the serpent's mouth.

The Basilisk screamed. With a jerk, it keeled over sideways and crashed with a ground-shaking rumble to the floor. And, oh so suddenly, it was just … dead.

"No!" howled Riddle, his face no longer handsome but distorted by rage. He pulled the holly wand out of his pocket, training it at Harry. "You'll die! Die at the hands of Lord Voldemort, who you so unwisely challenged. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon. Now, it's just you and me, Harry." Riddle tilted his head, his eyes tinted crimson. " _Avada_ –"

Before he could finish the curse, Hermione called, "I think you've forgotten something, Riddle. He's never alone. He's got me!" She'd torn out one of the Basilisk fangs and now plunged it straight into the heart of the diary. "Basilisk venom," she uttered with a smile. "The most deadly poison in the world."

There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink oozed out of the diary, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing, twisting, and screaming. The memory was imploding and then – he was gone.

And there was silence.

* * *

 _ ***** Written for the Houses Competition, Round 8*_

 **House: Ravenclaw**

 **Category: Bonus Round, AU**

 **Prompt: List 2:** "What if Hermione was a Pureblood."

 **W/C: 5, 983**


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